CaptainScience

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Ive always wondered about the price range of commissions?

Ive been wanting to get someone to draw The Crown for a while, but I dont want to just ASK someone to do it, cause, well... as someone with very little free time myself, I dont want to ask someone else to use thier free time on me heh..if that makes sense.

So ive been considering commissioning an artist, but ive blown it off cause I really dont think I should be spending money on something like that hehe,.. but im interested in knowing the price ranges, just to make sure

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Just thought I'd mention this bit for clarity: the powers-that-be frown on any specific mention of commission pricing in a thread, so we don't discuss actual pricing here. For specifics on commission pricing either ask via PM's or on an artist's outside website.

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Scrap that... get Open Canvas... more bang for your buck, and geared specifically for Comic Artists!

Try the Trial... and waaaaaaaay more affordable!

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Hey, that Open Canvas seems like a pretty nice program! (I downloaded the trial) Thanks for mentioning it!

Adobe Photoshop and Painter are the "big two" standards... but this Open Canvas looks to be pretty fully functional...

"Drawing the head and figure" by Jack Hamm is pretty good, too

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To help focus my drawing skills, today I signed up for a non-credit class at one of the local community colleges. The class is called Drawing: So You Think You Can't Draw. While I don't think I can't draw, the description sounds a good place to start.

One of my biggest problems is actually finding time. I work all day where I can't really break out a sketch pad, but then when I get home I usually log myself into the game and I don't actually do any drawing. My hope is that the pressure of a class will help get me drawing. There's a part of me that also feels that I'll draw if I want to, and if I'm not now it's because the want isn't big enough.

Though if the class helps me to get better, to the point where I'm happy with what ends up in my sketchpad, I'm pretty sure I'll be much more content to take time away from other things to devote to drawing.

Oh the mind games I play with myself. It's a lot like playing Ping Pong without having to take up so much space for the table.

But, I'm hoping this class will fulfill two things for me. First, to give me a firm shove down the artistic path I want to be on and second, to help me get my pencil working in a coordinated effort with my imagination.

Anyway...I'm excited.

Cosmic

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Here's a suggest (worth every penney you paid me for it!)

When you get home, do NOT play COH until you've drawn for X amount of time. Playing COH is the "reward" for doing your "work." Make it a reasonable, doable, achievable amount of time - even if its only 30 minutes or a hour. But stick to it.

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Amongst the Favorites I marked it was hard to pick one, but I like this a lot. I really like the pieces this artist does.

The results for Most Viewed and Most Favorited by the viewing public were interesting...

Most Viewed

Most Favorited



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You probably ought to mark that 'Most Viewed' one "Not Safe For Work" there, SuperMaoriFulla

Jamaro (ie: Gill Bates) over at MMOArt uses Painter - he needs to jump into this thread.

Well, don't completely give up on the idea.

Certainly 16 to 24 pages (times however many "issues" you want) of comic book art is a lot of work. Especially if you're aiming for something more like level of detail and realism we see in mainstream stuff.

But - I'm sure that if you look far and wide enough, there ARE some budding, amateur comic art enthusiasts whose love of the medium, whose youthful energy, and whose hunger to do ANYthing "comic bookey" would make them jump at the chance to tackle your project, even for free.

They might see it as practice, they might want to be able to use the resulting work as part of their portfolio when they try to break into the business.

Granted, you might hook up with someone who's enthusiasm far exceeds their current draftsmanship. But if you both feel strongly about what you're doing - thats really all that matters. Who knows, you might just hook up with the next generation's comic art genius.

...and this isn't at all meant to be a slam against those who won't offer without due compensation, because, honestly, the time and effort involved in such a project is big, and should be respected.

But the world is big, the people on it are many. If its something that you really want to do, go for it, keep looking - a like mind is probably out there somewhere. Though its a risk of time and effort - there might be something wonderful as a result, and there might be other rewards down the line.

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I just had a conversation with a friend of mine, and she accuses me of judging art from artists when I haven't even reached the level of those artists. I then tell her I judge that which is based in subjectivity; not skill.

Then she tells me "Subjectivity has no place in art, nor credibility."

Now, I'm just looking dumbfoundedly at that statement. How in the world can art not be subjective? Of course there are basic objective elements to art, such as composition, colors and such, but it's my belief that all art means different things to each of us and touches us all in different ways. If art were purely objective, what would even become of surreal art? Skill surely doesn't mean all--I think an artist's interpretation is just as important.

I just wanted to know from you, my friends, your opinions on the matter. Am I wrong? Am I right? Am I left?

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First, it does sound like your friend might've taken offense at your comment, and perhaps you should address THAT with them before anything else.


After that - re: Art & subjectivity vs. objectivity - Really, both are involved. Art is a form of expression, of communication, of feelings as well as literal ideas. (almost sounds like I'm doing the Twilight Zone intro...) A piece of art can be examined in a critical, intellectual way -or- it can be experienced in an intuitive, emotional sense.

Different people will "get" something different - what *I* get from a piece may be quite different from what *you* get, or it may be similar. That doesn't necessarily mean that *my* view is more or less valid that *yours* or someone else's.

Also, we may experience it on many different levels - both simultaneously, and changing over time - due to changes in us, or the environment.

certainly as I grow in skill as an artist myself, if affects how I experience art. but so, too, do any other changes in me (age, stress, that awful relationship with girl who painted butterflys ) affect what I "get" from a piece.

I can certainly be moved by a piece that evidences sloppy technique - and I could be left completely cold by a piece that I can see was executed with immaculate technique. I can certainly respect the skill of the latter, even if I don't "enjoy" it.

And there can be a very specific message the artist was trying to get across. But, did *I* "get" that message? and whether I did or not - I can still decide whether I "like" the piece.

There are certainly aspects of technical skill, and things like composition, ability to render a likeness - artistic skills that you can learn from an instructor and dissect from a piece and discuss. Those things have worth and meaning - but they aren't ALL there is to art - but they art part of it. How much is different from person to person and moment to moment.

I had a music teacher - way, way back in college - who felt that the only "proper" way to appreciate music was if you understood all the rules and underlying mechanics of harmony, composition, and such. You had to be able to deconstruct it and understand the harmonic relationships of the notes and rhythms. To just listen and enjoy the way it made you fell without understanding all that was "barbaric." I tho0ught he was utterly bonkers.

...but, I do feel that an understanding of the "mechanics" (what little I do - greater now than I did back then) does, indeed improve my enjoyment of the music I listen to today. The same with Art.

Okay - thats a whole lot of words to say this: Objectivity and subjectivity are BOTH applicable and appropriate when applied to "ART" - as are personal ignorance of and/or intimate knowledge of the creation "mechanics" of said art - in varying degrees depending on the person, the situation, the environment, and the price of tea in China.

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I know I already made my choices but I would love to give honorable mention to Ross Andru. When I started collecting Spiderman he was the artist. So many wonderful memories of his work on that series. I'dd like to add him to my list.

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I remember his work on old, old Metal Men. In a way, he makes me think of a thin, gangly, cheeky British guy - with an equal parts charm and annoyance. After Romita (Sr.) he was really good for Spiderman.

I know I've already picked, and I stand by my choices (living and dead) - but I was thinkin' ... I could've gone a totally different way:

Milton "Milt" Caniff - 'Steve Canyon' Creator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imageragonlady.jpg

Elzie C. Segar - 'Popeye' creator
http://lambiek.net/artists/s/segar.htm

Chester Gould - 'Dick Tracy' creator
http://www.chestergould.org/navigation/home.html

Charles "Chic" Young - 'Blondie' creator
http://www.blondie.com/

Jean "Mobius" Giraud - French comic book artist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Incal_Moebius.jpg

Hergé (Georges Remi) - 'Tin Tin' creator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TintinCast.gif

Wally Wood
Jim Steranko
Jack Kirby

(the order above is NOT significant)

VERILY! Tis coolness!

Glad to see you back Gill! Hope all is well with you and yours.

...and the art stuff looks great as usual! I think I like "Massacre Melanie" the best of this lot!

Thanks all!

I just love this one more and more each time I look at it!

I just wanted to post this fabulous drawing I got from RPvisions of my character "Wytefire" - a fire/gadgets Blaster who's jes'a tetch crazy...

http://rpvisions.com/chars/wytefire.htm

I'm just so unabashedly wowed by how beautiful this one came out! BRAVO to Manuel!

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A Portrait of Ugly Little Man
by Illidan of Guildhelper
Enjoy

Ugly Little Man--he's sure Ugly!

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(slightly embarrassed that I didn't see this one and started a separate thread on it... )

This guy is one of my villians, a science brute (dark melee and energy aura) - I think Illidan did a wonderful job, captured the personality quite well. Here's Ugly Little Man's blurb from his bio (the following is a fictional character's motivational thoughts - only fictional):

"Yesssss, they all thought it was funny making jokes about the little man, didn't they? It made them feel so very big, didn't it? So superior. So clever. ...and I took it, didn't I? Quietly. Calmly. Never once did they suspect that I might remember their names... that I might be planning the painful demise of each, and every, single one of them. Ohhhhh, but I was! ...and today? Today is the day it begins. Payback. Oh yesssss, payback..."

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psst

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Well, DANG! They beat me to it! (sorry for the extra post then!)

I got this wonderful pencil from Guildhelper of one of my villains - "Ugly Little Man" (a science Brute):

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...Man-Pencil.jpg

Here's the composite of screenshots I sent for reference:

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...leMan-comp.jpg

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....Views of the city and statues set to music, just isn't my thing.

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too bad you're not into those, but here, i hope this one makes up for it it has action, humor, and shooting! hope you like it.

Trigger Happy - Music Video

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Now yer tawkin! Guns, Violence, and WEIRD AL! You've made my entire day!

humming "...trigger, trigger happy... yes I'm trigger, trigger happy.."

Yeah!

Snappy Birthday Gill!

You must;ve missed the "Who remembers this??" thread over in the "Comic and Hero/Villain Culture" section? Check it out, lots of good stuff!

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...art=1&vc=1

Stuff as far back as "Kimba, the White Lion"!

...adn then, there's the more recent trend in 3d modeling - which is more like sculpting, with programs like:

Zbrush
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/home/home.php

MudBox
http://www.mudbox3d.com/

Cool, and used to make ultra-detailed models (and generate "normal maps") - but a very different way to work.

DAZ studio (very similar to Poser, can load many of its file formats) free from Daz

Carrara 3d Basic 2 is about $99 from DAZ

Carrara 5 is $249

Carrara Pro is $549

TrueSpace 5.2 is $199

TrueSpace 6.6 is $395

TrueSpace 7.0 is $595

Silo 1.4 is $109

Autodesk Maya Complete 8 is $1,999

in addition to the other programs mentioned, you might also consider these:

DAZ Carrara 3D Basics 2 (or the more complete Carrara Pro)
http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/carrara_basics/-/?

Silo from Nevercenter - simple, very inexpensive, yet powerful - but doesn't yet have much of a rendered
http://www.nevercenter.com/

I personally prefer 3dStudio Max, but its a big gun like Maya. (I find it much more intuitive than Maya - but some people feel exactly the opposite) ...and we're talking big, big bucks for it.

I suppose, given that you've stated that you want to create 3d characters like those in City Of Heroes, and that you're completely new to the realm of 3d modeling - yeah, Doug's advice is a pretty good start. Poser would get you into creating characters and cloting them and rendering them pretty fast & there's tons of free and low-cost content available.

The caveat that I would add here is that you are basically loading a prebuilt human model, and prebuilt props and prebuilt clothes and "posing" them, lighting them, and rendering them. THere are sliders and controls to do some modifying of the various bits of anatomy and such - and for the most part, that'll probably be all you need to do to get your desired end result.

But, if you ever want to get down into the more nitty gritty, if you want to build something from scratch, something of a form that does not exist as an available prebuilt model - then you'll need to look to one of the other tools mentioned (such as TrueSpace, Blender, etc).

Kind of the difference between loading in a a photo and being able to only use filters or a smudge-tool to push stuff around - vs drawing from scratch. ...well, okay analogies are always pretty flawed so ignore that.

You can do quite a lot with Poser - but it does have its limits. ...and many people will start with Poser and then export out to a more complete 3d tool (like Maya or Max or any of the others) to "finish it off." So Poser is probably a good place to start.

Later, if you get to the point where you want to start pushing individual verticies around and cutting, splitting, or turning edges - well, then you can look to add one of the other tools to your arsenal. With all the web available tutorials, purchasable 3d modeling DVDs (like those at:

http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/

http://www.digitaltutors.com/store/home.php

and many schools now teach it (probably at a community college or adult education center near you) - I'm sure that if you caught the 3d Bug, you'd be able to get up and modeling a relatively short time. Mastering it, now that could take the rest of your life... (grin)

wow! This is a great drawing! Even just as pencils with no color - really beautiful. I think its my favorite Guildhelper piece so far! Would love to see a whole comic of this!

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the half-a-winged statue behind her, and that one strand of hair curling around in front, looking almost like a halo? Wonder if it was intentional?



(and I'll try not to say anything about the camel toe... )

Nice screenshot!

...but, ya know, ya just might wanna change yer thread title and spell out "screenshot" - cuz the way it reads now kinda looks like yer tryin ta sneak a naughty word past the censors by placing a space in it. And we all know yer too nice and upstanding of a guy to do a thing like that!